Sight Beyond the Surface

12.5.22

Comfortable Christian… oxymoron.  Christ was not comfortable nor were His disciples.

The more I regard the suffering of the persecuted church, the more despised luxury becomes to me. Every creature comfort is like a swinging blade upon the fan that hangs from the ceiling of excessive supply.  A portion of my soul longs rather to be on the rooftop of warfare exposed to the elements, thus compelled to cling to Christ.

THE PERSECUTED

In Eritrea, Christians are kept in shipping containers and tortured mercilessly, and yet they hold fast their confession of faith when relief is offered per exchange for recantation.  Why?  Because God IS.  Because Jesus Christ sits enthroned upon their hearts and they are not of this world.  They know apart from a shadow of doubt that they are truly free and their affliction are phenomenally producing an eternal weight of glory.

2 Cor 4:17-18 Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

11.28.22

If I were to die today, and stand before my Maker, would He receive me as I say, “Have mercy on this taker”?

At this point If I had time to think before I shut my earthly eyes, I envision my last words would be something of the sort: “Forgive me God. I know you are true. I did not trust You completely with the details of my life.  I did not deny myself.  I failed to fully submit and have lived a mediocre life in the grip of fear and apathy. I am undeserving and filled with regret.  Will You still receive me into Your Kingdom?”

Thankfully, I am not on my deathbed. I am alive. The Spirit of God dwells within me and there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus… This is the day the LORD has made.  In it, I will rejoice.  I will be glad, for His joy is my strength.  He who has begun a good work in me will not stop until the Day of Christ Jesus, for He is faithful.  The LORD my God is greater than any addiction or tendency of self-preservation.  His work in my life is made evident by many manifestations and I will not discredit Him by dwelling on my failures.  I bring them into subjection and anticipate the honest baring of thought to be a helpful reflection and baring of the soul that is somehow transfigured for God’s glory.

Phil 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ; ¹¹ having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

11.27.22

I am convinced that willingness to intensely suffer for Christ is the mark of authentic relationship with Him, evidenced by example of the persecuted church in restricted and hostile nations—testimonies of those who endure unspeakable torture and have been purified almost entirely of self as a result thereof. Knowing of such a devotion as lived out by hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, has rocked me to the core with the challenge of this question:  does my unwillingness to fully submit to the Spirit disprove authentic conversion?

My resistance in separating myself from the comforts of earth brings shame upon me, for I cannot go back, thus I walk in the shallow shadows of salvation as doubt creeps about, catching up daily and I think, “the persecuted… the persecuted… the persecuted…”.

Die self. Die.

11.26.22

Today, I am different—less indifferent.

11.25.22

I just watched a portion of Sheep Among Wolves, a documentary on persecuted Christians in Iran.  I understand at a greater degree what it means to be a Christian and pray that God’s righteous indignation for the candy-coated life will eliminate the self-centered tendencies I’ve become accustomed to practicing.  LORD, save me from a shallow existence in Christ.

11.24.22

THE PERSECUTED

Today I remember you, precious holy people of God, who suffer greatly and are thus purified.  You are of the most honored vessels of glory in reflective uniform of Christ Jesus upon the earth.  May the Presence of God be made manifest tangibly and amplified undeniably as the glory of the LORD rest upon and emanates from you in this day of which thanksgiving abounds.  May praise pour forth from your inner being unto our splendorous King as He strengthens you in the power of His Holy might.

Heb 13:3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

11.24.22

Yesterday was a significant day for me spiritually speaking. I began my day with recording thought streams about the persecuted church.  As I type this, even now I can feel the LORD clothe me with purpose and am encouraged to apprehend such a tremendous responsibility.

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Less than an hour later, while processing time with God (on my treadmill as usual) I laid down a fixation on a particular food that was taking up entirely too much mental real-estate. This ability was received through consistent prayer in addition to revelation through God’s Word and the elaborations of commentary on John 8:31-36. Notably I recognize this:

My sin killed God.

“True believers abide in God’s Word. They do not turn aside from Him. Genuine faith has the quality of permanence. A disciple indeed abides in Christ as a result of salvation”.

I had to put up a good fight, visualizing taking the hand of Christ rather than fulfilling the lust of the flesh by succumbing to the mental stronghold of consumption. Prayer infused with Scripture spoken aloud proved to be essential for the victory the LORD enabled me to experience.

^“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³ And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3

In correspondence to my surrender, the following occurred: the capacity to love the LORD my God and consider Him in all my increased significantly.  Throughout the day I found myself more readily available to tend to the needs of others.  My heart was more susceptible to experiencing emotions, both pleasant as well as disturbing. A most valued observation was much confirmation to answered prayer in conjunction to the Holy Spirit lacing the meditation of my mind with this verse; “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Ja 5:16b

Thank You God.

Luke 17:12-19

¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? ¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

11.23.22

THE PERSECUTED

They are the souls who have slipped from the shadows of the ignorance that plagues humanity.  They have discovered their true value. What is it that they know?  How did they make such a discovery?  Who enlightened them to such compelling evidence of unorthodox reality?

Now the faithful surely suffer – unlike any agony most will ever endure: captivity in the darkest of dungeons, confinement in squares of estranged despair, unspeakable tortures enforced through the acts of merciless men, seeking to devastate the hope within those holding fast and eradicate the eternal reserve they cannot touch, lest they discover themselves in a similar predicament.

11.22.22

I have begun… The efforts of my heart will be applied in the manor of writing about the persecuted. Interesting that I unintentionally finished the devotional I’ve been reading, Extreme Devotion, VOM, on the very morning I took the plunge.  I know the LORD has inspired this within me because in this zone of intent I come to life.

11.21.22

Character of Christ

Jesus Christ is intentional in all His ways. He does nothing flippantly.  He holds back nothing in faithfulness to His Father. He is God, who alone is righteous and holy to the degree of absolute perfection in personhood.

What God wants

God wants relationship with people.  He has made a way to be in relationship with us without compromising His character at the expense of His perfect Son suffering incomprehensively.  God desires our utmost attention, allegiance, affection and trust.